Morpheus in the Underground
by Old Toad
Summary: Looking for a route to the Source and for possible allies, Morpheus and Niobe investigate an adjunct to the Matrix called the Labyrinth and its mysterious ruler, the program called Jareth. They find that someone else is also trying to penetrate the Labyrinth.
1. Chapter 1

MORPHEUS IN THE UNDERGROUND, Chapter 1

Morpheus preferred to stand to make his reports to Zion Council. "Last time I reported to you that the machines accept our presence on the Matrix and that the sentinels leave our ships alone. That has not changed. I continue to believe, however, that any attempt to liberate anyone, or even for us to approach a 'field', would end the peace and that the machines would at once renew their attack upon Zion. With a heavy heart I believe that Captain Niobe's call to resume operations would be utter folly."

"Captain Morpheus, you and your crew spend more time in the Matrix than here in Zion. Could you tell the Council," asked Councillor Hamann, who knew very well already, "what you do do on the Matrix?"

"Yes," butted in another Council member, "and any news of Neo or Trinity."

"The Oracle," replied Morpheus, speaking calmly and firmly, as always, "believes that Trinity is dead. I do not doubt the truth of it. She is not clear as to Neo's fate, but she says that he will return to the Matrix. She will not say when."

"To the Matrix, but not to us, to Zion?"

"That seems to be her message, but she is not definite. Quite possibly she does not know."

"Please continue with your report, Captain," prompted Hamann,

"Yes, Councillor. We have become very interested in the sentient programs which 'inhabit' the Matrix. We have always known that the Agents were programs with a human appearance. Since Neo joined us we have encountered other programs, some working for the machines, others apparently free agents. The Oracle is a program, as is Seraph, her protector. We encountered a powerful and hostile program called The Merovingian who had – and still has - many other programs under his control. One, The Trainman, controls the movement of programs between the Source and the Matrix. Unfortunately, this program has proved hostile and intransigent."

Another councillor broke in with a question. "Is there any possibility that one of these programs could become another Smith?"

"The Matrix changed subtly after Smith's defeat. All indications are that it is no longer possible for a program to replicate as he did. However, there are many dangers in the Matrix. We still do not know how Smith was able to subvert Bane, but we do know that it went far beyond merely recruiting him as a traitor: Smith appears to have taken over Bane's mind completely. Essentially, Bane had _become_ Smith."

Many councillors stirred uneasily in their seats at this. The questioning of Morpheus went on for some time.

Afterwards, Morpheus, Link, Niobe and Councillor Hamann gathered for a private conversation. "You noticed that the Council is becoming a little hostile?" asked Hamann. "Many feel that when resources are stretched in re-building Zion's defences and military strength, we cannot afford to indulge in dabbling in the Matrix. Fortunately, the need for intelligence is recognised."

"There is also fear," added Niobe, "They think that what you are doing on the Matrix could bring the machines down on our heads."

"And yet you would do more, not less?" queried Morpheus.

"I would take the fight to the machines. If we just sit here, waiting for them to attack, then we are waiting for our certain destruction."

"I agree," said Morpheus. "But we are weak and the enemy is strong. If we are to attack, we must know the enemy's weakness and have the weapons to exploit it. That is what we are about; it is what I have devoted my life to doing."

"Have you found anything, anything at all we can use?" asked Hamann, hopefully.

"Have you heard of Sati?"

"No, Morpheus, is that another program?"

"Yes, Councillor, and a very remarkable one," said Morpheus. "She is a young child, gifted and creative, but a child. The Oracle and Seraph look after her, but her 'parents' are two programs at the Source. This is the first case known to us of programs procreating. Interesting don't you think?"

"Remarkable," acknowledged Hamann. "And you think this … 'child' is a weakness we can exploit?"

Niobe snorted, but said nothing. Morpheus ignored her. "No! But she is a sign that things are changing, rapidly. It is not the _machines_ that are important, it is the _programs_ which direct them! Programs that create small children and care for them are not going to be inimical to human beings; they can relate to us."

Niobe was sarcastic. "That is your great hope, Morpheus?"

"It is a cause for hope. There are others. Sentient programs do not originate on the Matrix – or at least that has not happened yet – they come from the machine mainframe, the Source. We have been looking for a route from the Matrix into the Source; we now know that some programs have been creating their own routes."

"Like the Merovingian?" asked Hamann.

"That's right, Councillor. His establishments are staffed entirely by programs smuggled out of the Source, mostly 'exiles' – sentient programs from early versions of the Matrix. The same applies to many of his customers. One customer has been supplying us with information. Thus we have learnt of a program called Jareth. Link, tell them about Jareth."

Link hurriedly cleared his throat. "This Jareth was a regular at the Merovingian's nightclub, a high-spending customer and a classy dresser, a dandy. He was in the Merovingian's inner circle, and our source does not like them one bit! How did she describe them, Captain?"

"A bunch of pretentious poseurs: arrogant, self-indulgent and self-regarding."

Link grinned "Oh yes. That's Jareth alright. But he's different to the rest of them: he is a _new_ program - more sophisticated, not a relic from the past. He and the Merovingian were close for a while. Then there was a fight; they clashed over Persephone – the Merovingian's 'wife' – and Jareth challenged the Merovingian to a duel in front of everyone!"

"Sounds quite a rumble," said Niobe. "Wish I'd seen that!"

"Me too," said Link. "Jareth never returned to the Hel Club, and we thought the Merovingian had had him terminated. Then we discovered the Labyrinth. Niobe, you should see that place!"

"She might," said Morpheus. "I am looking for volunteers to help me explore it."

_ -oOo- _

The battered old hovership nosed along the tunnel; inside was a crew of five: Morpheus, Link, Niobe, and two trainee operators. The Council had refused to allow more than three of the few remaining skilled operators on the same mission. Trailing the hovership, just outside the EMP range, was a single sentinel. Hovership crews were still getting used to this constant, passive surveillance; but the consensus was that you were OK provided there was only the one sentinel.

Once hooked into the Matrix, Link spent some time searching for the Labyrinth. "We think the Labyrinth was created by hacking the basic Matrix code," he explained to the others. "It can be accessed via the Matrix, but it's _not_ a part of it. Jareth has made it his kingdom; he even calls himself "King of the Goblins."

"Goblins!" exploded Niobe, "What the hell?"

"We have no idea," said Morpheus, "But I intend to find out. … And Link is correct: the Labyrinth is NOT part of the Matrix. That is why it is taking him so long: he has to find a place in the Matrix close to an opening to the Labyrinth – and they are elusive. … How is it going Link?"

"I have found a plush neighbourhood. The way to the Labyrinth is close by, I just can't pin it down. But it's the best I can do."

_ -oOo- _

Niobe and Morpheus looked around; it was a most salubrious suburb: large and immaculate homes were separated by well-tended lawns and neat gardens. The few vehicles on the broad avenues were new, highly polished and expensive. Here and there flagpoles proudly upheld the Union flag. Everything signalled order, calm, privilege and comfortable wealth.

"Is this for real?" joked Niobe.

Morpheus grinned, but gave a serious answer. "It is _realistic_ ; the Matrix is a masterpiece of realism. This area is just as much a part of the late twentieth century as office blocks and the freeway. However, the place we are going to is different, a work of the imagination. The rules are different there."

Morpheus put the cell phone to his ear. "Operator, we're in. Any pointers to the Labyrinth?"

" _Look for a park with trees and grass and a stream running through it."_

"Got you, out."

The two wandered the empty streets looking for a park. "Where is everyone?" Niobe asked quietly. It was not the sort of place where folks shouted.

"This is a dormitory suburb. Everyone is in those big city office blocks earning the money it takes to live here."

"Not everyone. I can hear children, lots of them."

"Good. That could be our park."

It was an elementary school, but a polite inquiry of waiting parents sent them in the right direction. The park was larger than they expected, with large pools and quaint stone bridges over flowing water. It was deserted apart from a few dog walkers. Then Link 'phoned, " _Morpheus, you are practically on top of the Labyrinth, it is there!_

They spent an hour scouring the place looking for any anomaly which might point to the existence of the Labyrinth. Frustrated, they found a lone bench and sat down. Morpheus called Link to ask what was going on.

" _Maybe it only becomes visible at certain times_ ," Link suggested in reply.

"It could be after dark, that would make sense. How long 'til sunset?"

" _About an hour."_

"When does the moon rise?"

" _I'll have to get back to you on that!_ "

"Get Kid to work on it."

" _Yes, Sir! … Sir, hold on, something's happening … There's a sentient in your vicinity, and it's moving around fast._ "

"Is it an Agent?"

" _No, Sir! … And it's not in human form._ "

"Track it! That sounds like something from the Labyrinth. What does it look like?"

" _Don't know, Sir, not yet. Me and Kid are working on that."_

"Don't loose it!"

" _It's gone! Damn, damn, damn!"_

"You lost it?"

" _It disappeared, vanished, switched off. It went suddenly, like someone flicked a switch_."

"OK, there's a callbox by the park entrance; it's raining, we aren't going to hang around in the wet."

Back in the real world, Niobe and Morpheus studied the recording that Link had made. "There was a girl with a big dog in the park," asked Niobe, "could it have been the dog?"

Link shook his head. "There is the dog," he pointed, "And there is the girl; nothing special about either of them."

Kid suddenly yelled. "Got it, Sir! It was a bird, flying about. See!"

"Good work," said Morpheus, who turned to the other trainee. "Keep a look out for it, it could return anytime. … Link, we must be ready to return to the Matrix at short notice."

"Sir, could I enter the Matrix now, just in case?" pleaded Kid.

"OK, Kid, it's time you got some experience. Keep in touch with Link and don't go far from that callbox."

"Thank you, sir. I'll be careful, sir!"

Kid was soon at the park and on his cell phone to Link. "It's getting dark and I'm getting soaked. You might have sent me in with waterproofs!"

Link chuckled, " _It's not real rain you know, tough guy."_

In the Matrix, the rain stopped for a while, the moon came out and Kid got bored. There was far off thunder and lightning – a storm was approaching. Then Link called: " _Your bird is back, Kid, any chance you can see it?_ "

There was an un-expected double flash of nearby lightning, and Kid thought he saw something. "There is something in the sky, could be an owl."

" _I see it too! The Captain is coming in to join you; stay where you are."_

A few minutes later Morpheus and Kid were running together through pelting rain, along deserted streets, following Link's directions. Then Link announced that the owl had stopped, and they looked around for it, Morpheus using a flashlight.

Link's voice crackled loudly from the cell phone, " _I knew it!_ _Sir, he is in that house, it's Jareth! The owl was Jareth!"_

"As I suspected. Where is Niobe? Send her in! … Oh, and give her a set of walkie-talkies." Morpheus looked around, buffeted by wind, backlit by lightning. "Kid, we should be seeing the Labyrinth, where is it? Stay here and wait for Niobe, I'm going to look round the back of the house."

Moments later Niobe emerged from the darkness, already talking to Link, "Operator, I'm in, and Kid is here with me." She looked around, "Kid, where is Morpheus, what is going on?"

After a hurried explanation, Niobe raced round to the back of the house, through the side gate which Morpheus had forced open, with Kid close behind. Morpheus was standing on the back porch, gazing out over their heads. He was stock still and did not seem to see or hear them. Only when they joined him on the porch did he acknowledge their presence, pointing out into the backyard. "Turn and look, there is the Labyrinth, and at the top there is Jareth's castle, his hideout."

They turned, and two jaws dropped. Where there should have been only darkness was the great Labyrinth laid out before them, and beyond it a hill, rising in the distance and topped by a large building, the castle. The Matrix storm had deposited its rain and gone, but the land before them was dust-dry, the vegetation little more than parched grasses, dried twigs and branches.

Morpheus spoke to Link, "Operator, we see the Labyrinth."

Morpheus put his phone away. "We have to split up; someone has to stay here, where the Labyrinth intersects with the Matrix. That will be you, Kid; on this spot you are in both the Matrix and Labyrinth worlds and the connection between the two will not close while you stay put. Niobe, we shall meet whatever the Labyrinth has in store for us."


	2. Chapter 2

MORPHEUS IN THE UNDERGROUND, Chapter 2

 _Morpheus and Niobe have entered the world of the Labyrinth, leaving Kid behind to guard their exit point._

As they jogged downhill to the Labyrinth walls Niobe asked, "Morpheus, why the walkie-talkies?"

"Look at your phone, what do you see?"

"Uh? ... Oh, 'No signal.'"

"We are no longer in the Matrix."

"Remind me, Morpheus, why _exactly_ are we here?" Niobe's sarcasm and antagonism were gone; they were on a mission now and she was totally professional.

"Two reasons. There is a theory that the Labyrinth may provide a route to the Source which we can exploit. Also, there are many sentient programs in the Labyrinth – Jareth may be the top dog, but not all the inhabitants are in thrall to him. Some may be helpful to us."

"Ha! I find it difficult to accept the very idea of a 'helpful' sentient. You may trust the Oracle, I do not."

"Niobe, you have not met Sati."

"I have not. But little girls don't make _me_ go dewy eyed."

By now they had reached the forbidding outer wall of the Labyrinth. "There is a door somewhere, if we can but find it," said Morpheus. "Once inside I don't know what to expect. They say 'things are not always what they seem in the Labyrinth.'"

"Who says that? How come you know _anything_ about this Labyrinth?"

"I have been this far once before. I met a maintenance program called Hoggle. He wasn't very forthcoming, but he did tell me a few things."

"Oh yeh, you trust this Hoggle do you?"

"He is afraid of Jareth, who has some power over him which he resents. So, no, I don't trust him."

They heard a crash behind them, like a great door banging shut. Morpheus looked round and saw a small figure with an enormous head emerge from a whirl of dust. "That's him! … Hey, Hoggle!"

The dwarf did not look pleased. "Oh, it's you, Morphine. Back again. Who's that with you?"

"Niobe," said Morpheus, grinning at the deliberate corruption of his name, "May I introduce Hoggle. … Hoggle, may I present Niobe."

"Pleased to meet you, Hoggle."

"No you aint. People aint never pleased to meet me."

"Suit yourself," she replied tartly.

"That's better," mumbled the dwarf, and introductions were complete. He then began to wander off, ignoring them.

Niobe ran to overtake him. "Hobble, we want to get into the Labyrinth."

"It's _Hoggle_. … I suppose you're after _her_."

"Who's that, Hoggle?"

"You know: the young lady trying to get her baby brother back from _him_. … Why else would you want to go in there?" He gestured towards the Labyrinth.

Before Niobe could think of a reply there was a shout from Morpheus, who had been examining the wall near where they had first seen Hoggle. "Niobe, over here; there are double doors in the wall!"

She shrugged and raced back to join Morpheus. Hoggle shook his head sadly and set off for the hidden passage which led from the outer wall directly to the oubliette. Most outsiders dropt into the oubliette; they usually gave him a little something for leading them out again.

Morpheus was struggling to open the doors. There were no handles and he had tried pushing to no avail. "They must open outwards," he told Niobe, "but how?"

She too looked for handles, but saw none. There was nothing on the doors which could be gripped and pulled. She looked for a bell pull, but there was none to be seen. Niobe expected nothing to happen, but she tried anyway: "OPEN SESAME!" Nothing happened. She lost her cool, banged on the door with her fists and shouted. Nothing!

The pair of them turned away, defeated, and the doors swung mysteriously open behind them. Quickly they rushed for the doorway, not knowing how long the doors would remain open. On the threshold Morpheus hailed Kid on the walkie-talkie. "Hey, Kid, can you see us, we are now entering the Labyrinth. Over."

" _I read you, Sir, loud and clear. But you seem to be out of sight. Over."_

"Never mind. I will contact you in an hour's time unless something crops up. Over and out."

They were in a narrow alleyway between high brick walls which stretched left and right as far as the eye could see. "Left or right, Morpheus?"

"This place plays tricks. How about we go straight ahead?" And indeed to Morpheus's delight and Niobe's amazement there was a near-invisible gap in the wall opposite the entrance. They were now in the maze proper, with a choice of left or right. They agreed to keep together, and on the toss of a coin set off to the left.

Very soon Morpheus lost his smug look, and an hour later his confidence was gone: the Labyrinth seemed impenetrable. "There seems to be some AI in the very fabric of the place, it keeps changing to confound us."

"Yes, it's an excellent defence. Any Agent coming after Jareth or his cronies would have a hard time getting through to the castle. But we are making progress – the castle is clearly nearer than it was. … Ah, this is different!"

Ahead of them were two figures with animal-like faces looking out over ornate shields. When the creatures moved and spoke they realised that there were another two peering out beneath the shields. "These doors are the only way," two of them said, "which will you choose?" The creatures seemed to find this rather funny, as though they were sharing a joke between them. "One door leads to the castle, the other door leads to _certain death_!" The jokey way they said this suggested that it might not be a serious threat.

Niobe muttered something about 'not finding this funny' and turned to go another way, only to find the way they had come was now blocked. She worked her way around the little square and quickly found that there was indeed no other way out. Meanwhile the creatures had been telling Morpheus that one of them always told the truth and the other always lied.

Morpheus was not inclined to play the game. "Well, we have established that one of you programs sometimes lies. Why should I believe that any of you tells the truth?"

The creatures retreated behind their shields and muttered to each other. "It's the rules!" they said. "You can only ask one of us."

"Which one," asked Niobe, "said that one of them always tells the truth and the other always lies?"

"They spoke together," said Morpheus. He considered this. "So the statement cannot be true."

"Exactly!" she agreed. "But we still have to decide which door to take. Or should we take a door each?"

"We agreed to keep together. Let's throw a coin: heads left, tails right." It was heads again. "We choose left," Morpheus told the gate keepers. "Someone had fun programming these jokers," he remarked to Niobe.

"That's us: jokers, Mister," giggled the creatures, "Or are we?" The ones on the left shuffled aside.

Morpheus opened the door and peered through. Then Niobe walked through first and immediately fell into the waiting hole.

Morpheus lay down flat and peered into the hole. He could see nothing but could hear muffled voices below, including Niobe's. He fished out his flashlight and trained it down the hole. He could see the top of Niobe's head slowly rising out of the dark below and in a few seconds she was on the ground beside him.

"Niobe, what happened, are you injured?"

"I'm fine. Let's just say I had some help to get out again. … Can we move on, this hole gives me the creeps?"

They left the hole behind (the doorway they had come through had already disappeared) and continued on deeper into the Labyrinth, going this way and that, always aiming for the castle they could often see on the skyline. They discussed the Labyrinth as they walked.

"Did Jareth write the Labyrinth, do you think?" asked Niobe. "Whoever did has a bizarre sense of humour."

"He may have commissioned it," Morpheus replied, "but many minds must have contributed to its design. I think it's first and foremost a work of art. So far it has often seemed threatening, but has never been particularly dangerous."

"Perhaps, but I can't help wondering what would have happened if I had answered 'down' to those hand-creatures." She shuddered.

They came out onto a little stonework square with a good view of the castle ahead. Immediately before and below them was a hedge maze with more stone walls and lanes beyond that, and then what looked like a broad strip of woodland. They still had a long way to go if they were going to reach Jareth's hideout. It occurred to Niobe that Morpheus had never said what he intended to do if they finally confronted Jareth. Was he being over secretive? She suspected he simply had no plan, but was making it up as he went along.

Morpheus called up Kid on the walkie-talkie for the second time since entering the Labyrinth and briefly described their position. "We should have taken a telescope with us when we entered the Matrix, you might have been able to track us. Any news from Link?"

" _I spoke to him just now, sir. He's been trying to make sense of the Labyrinth ever since you two went in. He can see you Captain, and says he has seen glimpses of a third human._ "

"We haven't seen anyone, but the place is riddled with programs with various levels of intelligence. We must try and rig up some way for him to contact us directly. If I could tell him what we are seeing he'd make a lot faster progress. … Has he seen Jareth in here? Over."

There was a long pause while Kid consulted with Link over the phone. Then: " _Captain, Link says there is a large, sentient program in your vicinity. It is vaguely humanoid but much larger than a human. He has no way of knowing if it's dangerous. … He says he's seen nothing like it before._ "

"Thanks, Kid, I'll get back to you. Out."

Meanwhile, Niobe had wandered off a few paces and was close up to what she had first thought to be a very large bird, like an emu. It was a be-whiskered old man, dressed in rags and fast asleep on a stone chair. Above him, presumably attached to his hat, was the long neck and head of a big bird, also sleeping. She signed to Morpheus that she wanted to wake him, but the captain shook his head: you didn't disturb dormant programs unless it was essential. They found steps leading down to the hedge maze and descended. Behind them, the bird-hat watched them go with a disdainful beady eye, and went back to sleep.

"Could that sleeping old man with the bird on his head be the 'humanoid' Link warned us about?" Niobe asked.

"Link does not exaggerate – at least not about things like that. If he says it's much larger than a man then it is. At least a large danger is easier to spot than a small one"

The hedges were neatly trimmed and the grass beneath their feet as immaculate as Astroturf. It seemed as tranquil as an English garden. Only the weirdly turreted castle on the hilltop spoiled the illusion. And could they hear rough laughter, singing, or a child's voice far off, coming from the castle?

Niobe began laughing, and Morpheus was puzzled. "It just struck me," she explained between giggles, "that this place, the Labyrinth, would be _really_ baffling to an Agent. Their logical, linear minds would not cope."

"It is having an effect on you too, Captain Niobe. Sharpen up! We are on a mission, and this place is not a theme park."

The angry tone of his voice, rather than the truth of it, quickly sobered her. The place was getting to him too.


	3. Chapter 3

MORPHEUS IN THE UNDERGROUND, Chapter 3

 _Niobe and Morpheus have reached the hedge maze._

As they wove their way through the intricacies of the maze, the castle on the skyline gave them a fixed point to aim for, without which they would indeed have been lost and going in circles. The grass under their feet gave way to gravel and then to paving stones laid between the thick, clipped hedges of the maze. They heard chattering, high-pitched voices from time to time but saw no one; they seemed alone.

Ahead of them now was a high stone wall blocking all sight of the way ahead. In the Matrix they could have 'bent the rules' and scaled the wall with ease. They had already found that in the Labyrinth this was not possible; it seemed that they were constrained to what was humanly possible in the real world.

"Another door would be useful," muttered Niobe, half to herself. Almost immediately, Morpheus found two wooden doors in the wall, each with a fancy knocker in the form of a comical face which appeared to be staring straight at them, bug-eyed. Niobe did not hesitate, but struck the knocker on the left-hand door, which immediately opened for them.

"Don't go falling down any holes this time," called Morpheus as Niobe advanced cautiously through. They found themselves in wild, untended woodland, a complete contrast to the regimented garden they were leaving behind. They looked behind and there was only the high wall they had come through, no sign of any door. Ahead there were narrow paths meandering around the trees and shrubs; underfoot was thick with leaf mould.

They had to guess the way to go at every turn and fork, and both soon lost their sense of direction. In rare places they could glimpse a high wall ahead through the trees, and they could only hope that this was the next wall and not the one they had already come through. This near-jungle was the most disorientating part of the labyrinth so far. Morpheus pulled out the walkie-talkie and tried to contact Kid, but there was only loud static: now they were really on their own.

Back in the hovership, Link was making progress with the data coming through as he monitored the two captains. He was able, for example, to 'see' the wall they had passed through, and was amused that the door they used had a sentient door knocker. He was then alarmed to find that the new section of the Labyrinth was occupied by several mobile sentient programs with strange properties. Without waiting to try and decode these, he 'phoned through to Kid to pass on a warning to Morpheus.

Kid was glad to have something to do, his part in all this was proving very dull. However, only minutes later he called Link back: "Link, they are not responding! I've hailed them several times. What do we do?"

"Calm down, Kid, I'm following them every inch of the way. We are analysing what is going on where they are; we think something in that area is jamming the walkie-talkie signal."

Meanwhile, Morpheus and Niobe were back to back in a small clearing while creatures that were vaguely ape-like, with bright orange/red fur and big ugly heads, danced around them at a furious pace, singing loudly in a queer falsetto as they went. They seemed very agitated and aggressive, and were making a lot of noise. When they began to strike fire with their feet and then started detaching their heads from their bodies, Niobe feared an attack and pulled out her sidearm; it felt too light in her hand. It was bright yellow with red lightning zigzags down the barrel - she was holding a child's toy. "Morpheus, what am I supposed to do with this?"

Morpheus went for his own gun; he found a 'six-shooter' cap-gun like he'd had as a kid. "Put your gun away – the Labyrinth is placing tricks with us! … There is no point in tangling with these creatures, just fend them off if they get too close. Keep moving, we need to get out of this section."

Eventually, closely followed by the dancing creatures, they reached a stone wall which towered high above them. "A door would be handy right now," shouted Morpheus. "Third time lucky", he whispered to Niobe. He was not surprised, though, that this time there was no door or entrance to be seen.

"We should have checked things as soon as we left the Matrix!" she said, waving her 'gun' in the air.

"My fault. I should have been wary of such tricks being played on us. Remember that everything but our own minds is code. The code for our weapons may have been modified, but the likelihood is that the Labyrinth is just altering our perception of them. They may still work as real guns, so be careful."

She nodded and put the gun away. "Our immediate problem is getting out of here."

They turned left and walked along the foot of the wall, where there was a narrow way clear of vegetation. The fiery creatures continued to tag along, occasionally darting in close to screech at them. They came to steps built onto the side of the wall, or rather a pair of stairs. The right-hand steps led downwards and under the wall, but there was such a nauseating smell there that they turned back, gagging. They climbed up the other steps which led to the top of the wall. This was wide enough to have a walkway down the centre with parapets both sides. "Like the great wall of China," said Niobe.

The creatures did not follow them up the stair, but continued to pester by flinging their heads up to the top of the parapet to harangue them. By this time, and perhaps free of the influence of the wild woodland, they regarded them as a mere annoyance and not a danger. Should they go left or right? Niobe wanted right and Morpheus argued for left. They tossed a coin and got heads for left.

"Ok," said Niobe, "you win and left it is, but I want to try something. Throw again." Morpheus got heads. He threw again and again – always heads.

"This is not right," he conceded. "We'll start again: this time it's tails for left." He threw a tail, and another tail and another.

"Is there an alternative to left or right?" she questioned, "like steps down the other side?" Far below, though, the ground on the other side of the wall was mostly standing water and it stank horribly. Even from far above it was not just nose-holding bad, but vomit-inducing ghastly; it was vile!

"You were right," said Niobe, "left is uphill, that seems our best bet."

A few minutes later the creatures on one side gave up following them and the swamp below on the other had given way to trees, massive oaks with large canopies. And beyond those was the hill, crowned by the grotesque castle - now much nearer, though there was still uncertain territory to cross. In the other direction was the great tract of the Labyrinth they had made their way through; they could see nothing beyond it.

Meanwhile, Link was still following them on his screens, struggling to interpret the data coming through: very like the Matrix, but to his expert eye significantly different. He turned to the novice operator behind him. "That chunk of Labyrinth code I asked you to look at, have you got anywhere?"

"You asked me to look at two. I've solved one of them, it's a supervisor: any program with the authority to use it can see anything in the Labyrinth. It was easy to identify because most of it is the same code the Agents use to monitor the Matrix – Leo put us wise to it."

"Does that mean that Jareth could see Morpheus and Niobe coming?"

"Well … err … if, err … yes, I guess so!"

"I'll tell Kid to pass that on as soon as possible. See if you can make anything of that other code."

Meanwhile, still on top of the wall, the two captains were examining their toy guns. "Weird," said Niobe, scowling. "I had one exactly like this as a kid – a hand-me-down from my big brother."

Morpheus's smiled sardonically as he studied his toy. "A child's cowboy gun; I played cowboys and Indians when I was very small." He carefully aimed it at stonework a few yards away and pulled the trigger; there was a click, nothing else. "I remember it was an old toy even when I got it; but it was my favourite for years."

Niobe tried with her 'ray gun' and got a feeble grinding noise. "It doesn't even work properly as a toy – just like the one I had when I was five."

Morpheus looked at his watch and then brought out the walkie-talkie. "We are late calling in. I hope this works now." The hiss and crackle of static was there, but not loud. "Hello, Kid, do you read me? Over."

Kid's reply came at once, but was faint; Morpheus had difficulty hearing him. After a lot of repetition Morpheus got Link's message about Jareth being able to spy on them. With much repetition, Morpheus explained that they were on top of a wall close to the castle and intended to press on.

The next problem was getting down off the wall; it was too high to jump and climbing down looked possible but risky. "We'll try climbing if we have to," Morpheus said, "but if one of us fell, even a twisted ankle would be one hell of a problem. I should have thought to bring some rope."

"You weren't to know we would loose our abilities here. Let's walk on," suggested Niobe. "It's a long wall and there should be steps down somewhere."

Before they found any steps they came to a wooden ladder. "I'll go first," Niobe volunteered. "It doesn't look very strong and I'm much lighter than you. Wait until I get to the bottom before you try." The ladder held, albeit with much creaking, and Niobe safely reached the bottom. She called back up to Morpheus, "I think it'll hold you, but you might snap a rung or two."

Morpeus was just swinging over to step onto the ladder when his cell phone rang. He scrambled back onto the wall and answered it, wondering who had figured out how to get a signal through to the Labyrinth. "Yes?"

" _I wouldn't risk it if I were you - it's a long way to fall._ "

"Who is that?"

" _You've done well to get this far, Morpheus. But it gets a lot harder after this. Turn back while you still can, both of you._ "

"Who is that?"

"Y _ou know. You cannot compete with me, Morpheus. This is my kingdom; the Labyrinth is mine!_ "

"Jareth? What are you afraid of Jareth? Can't we just talk?"

There was a click as the call ended, and his 'phone was still showing 'no signal'. Morpheus got onto the ladder and began, gingerly, to descend.


	4. Chapter 4

MORPHEUS IN THE UNDERGROUND, Chapter 4

 _Morpheus has received a warning 'phone call from Jareth._

Morpheus had descended to level with the top of the nearest tree when the rung he was standing on snapped. The rung he was grasping with both hands immediately came away and he fell backwards. He landed flat on his back on a soft surface, sending up a great cloud of dust and dry leaves. He was on his feet, coughing and spluttering before Niobe could reach him.

"You didn't fall far," she explained, "these trees are not tall; the view from above was deceptive."

The trees, whatever they were, had knobbly trunks of impressive girth and broad canopies, but were stunted in height: the branches were not much above their heads, easily in reach of an outstretched arm.

Before going further they checked their kit. They still had the same toy guns; their phones still displayed 'no signal' and now the walkie-talkie was showing 'low battery'.

"Great," muttered Niobe. She took her throwing knife from its hidden sheath and hurled it at the nearest tree. It went in almost to the hilt and she struggled to withdraw it. "Great!"

There were no obvious paths, but neither was there any undergrowth, just soft moss and leaf mulch underfoot. Some trees were hung thickly with moss, others appeared to sparkle. They saw nothing living, and there was no birdsong, but their ears were assailed by the constant, irritating racket of innumerable frogs. The whole place seemed unreal, rather like a film set.

"It is odd," said Morpheus, after they had been making their way for some time. "I feel hunger. I have never before felt hungry while jacked-in; now I crave food."

"Me too," said Niobe, "I keep asking myself why we didn't bring something to eat with us: it's not right."

There was nothing they could do but continue their way between the trees, slowly approaching the castle on the hill. The ground had many ups and downs; once, looking down, they briefly saw a broad back of red fur moving ahead of them. "Whatever that thing is," whispered Morpheus, "it's going the same way we are."

They reached the top of a ridge which gave them a clear view of the castle, now quite near. "It's becoming dark," observed Niobe. "We've been taking the light for granted."

"Yes, I wonder if Jareth controls it. I suspect he controls the Labyrinth pretty closely."

"You reckoned that Hoggle was autonomous."

"Yes, though under the king's thumb." Morpheus checked his flashlight; that at least was working. He shone it onto the ground ahead of them, which they had to cross next. "Looks like a rubbish dump; it'll be slow going crossing that. Then inside that wall is the Goblin City."

"It looks like there may be routes through the junk," Niobe pointed out. "What do you know about goblins, what can we expect?"

"We are here to find out. They are, I think, redundant programs smuggled out from the Source, but what they look like, or how they behave, I have no idea."

As Niobe had seen, there were pathways through the junk: narrow lanes meandered through tottering piles of discarded things, from abacuses to xylophones, all jumbled together. Here and there, little fires burned untended, giving tiny patches of light in the gloom. As they cautiously advanced they noticed movement in the jumble and dull little faces blankly staring at nothing in particular. They did not stop until they caught Hoggle in the flashlight beam.

Hoggle was sitting with his great head in his hands. He did not look up when they stood in front of him, but flapped a hand. "Go away! I've got troubles enough without you," he groaned, looking wretched.

"Is it Jareth?" asked Morpheus.

"It's what I've done because of him. I've betrayed my only friend."

"Then do something, make a difference, help us to confront him."

"Confront him, eh? Then what? … I've let down Sarah and she was my friend. To stand against Jareth you need luck and courage, and I don't have neither!"

Niobe, remembering what Hoggle had said to her outside the Labyrinth, took an interest for the first time. "Tell us about it, Hoddle. Perhaps we can help."

"It's Hoggle!" Nevertheless, he told them the whole tale: how the Goblin King had taken the baby, and how Sarah was trying to get him back. He told them about Ludo and Sir Didymus, and how Jareth had got him to give Sarah the doctored fruit.

"Sarah and the child, Toby, they are human?" asked Morpheus.

"Right now they are, but if Sarah doesn't reach the castle soon then her kid brother will become another goblin. Can't say I like goblins."

"Jareth can really do this?" Niobe was angry.

"I guess so. Here he can do most things; he'd be watching us if he weren't too busy with Sarah."

Morpheus maintained his steely calm. "Residual self-image: it's not strong in an infant. Exposure to the Labyrinth for a few hours could affect it, make it malleable. He could make the child _look_ like a goblin." He took a deep breath and spoke slowly: "Hoggle, you have a choice: sit there feeling sorry for yourself, or join with us and help Sarah. Redeem yourself, it is not too late."

Hoggle stood. "I'm doing this for Sarah."

Morpheus nodded, "Understood. Where is she?"

Hoggle, head raised, turned slowly as though sniffing the air in all directions. "Ludo and Didymus are together over there. But Sarah isn't a program; I'll only know where she is when I see her."

Niobe and Morpheus spoke over each other. Niobe wanted to know where he had last seen Sarah, and Morpheus asked whether he could really locate any program in the Labyrinth.

"I wouldn't be much of a maintenance program if I didn't know what was going on in the Labyrinth, now would I."

Niobe repeated her question.

"I gave her that peach back there – among the trees. She just might still be there, inactive … what do you call it? … Sleeping, that's it! She could be sleeping under the trees."

On the hovership. Link was continuing to monitor the Labyrinth, following the two captains as best he could. He called the trainee over. "What do you make of that?"

"It looks like a different space, a tiny world inside the Labyrinth."

"Correct: it's a construct like one of our training programs, and there's a whole bunch of sentients milling about inside it, including Jareth – his profile is very distinctive."

"Is that a human, there, next to him?"

"Oh my! … Female I think. She must be jacked-in to the Matrix, and gone through into the Labyrinth and on into this little make-believe place. I can't imagine what it seems like to her! … Whoa! What's happening? We've lost it!" He stared at the code coming through. "It's deconstructed, gone."`

"Hell! That must be fatal!"

"I guess so … No, there she is, not so far from Morpheus and Niobe, and … and that must be Hoggle."

Meanwhile, Hoggle had climbed a pile of junk for a better look around. He suddenly started and slid down, riding an avalanche of junk. "You know what this stuff is, don't you?" he asked the two humans. "It's scraps of code from the Matrix; discarded possessions end up here, and _she_ uses them."

He waited for his audience to look puzzled; he was getting to like the attention they gave him. "The old Junk Lady is one of _his_ tools," he gestured towards the castle. "She was written as a trap for any human who gets this far. And he has just activated her. First he got Sarah on her own and be-fuddled, and now he has set the Junk Lady to delay her."

"We can talk on the way," said Morpheus, "Take us to her."

"Now, I don't know nothin' about humans; we don't find many here – just the ones that Jareth lures in from time to time. But the Junk Lady - you could say there ain't nothing she don't know about them. She can read their minds, find memories long forgotten and then – this is the cunning bit – she will produce some long-lost treasure from their past and distract them. Sometimes for days. Sarah's hours are nearly up; we've got to find her!"

They followed Hoggle along the narrow lanes between the spoil heaps, barging their way through, heedless of the chaos left behind them. Hoggle suddenly darted down and through a doorway. He stopped and both careered into him, knocking him flat. "This is her trap," he said, scrambling to his feet, "and there she is! I don't see Sarah." He looked around; they were in what appeared to be a child's bedroom that had been attacked by a wrecking ball. The room was bright, but there were great holes in the walls through which gloom and junk appeared to be pouring in.

In the midst of this mess was a tiny, bent figure, the face all dust and wrinkles. Her voice was faint and whining. "She's gone, she saw through it. I didn't have enough time; the trap was too weak. It takes time to build a solid illusion – you tell Jareth that!"

Even as she spoke the light faded, and the illusion of a bedroom faded too. They were left in the dark.

Hoggle scrambled out, calling the humans to follow him. "Sarah will be heading for the Goblin City!" Very soon they had dodged around more rubbish piles and arrived at the foot of yet another wall. "This is the city wall," Hoggle told them. "It's not so difficult to climb over, especially if you're as big as you two."

"Isn't there a gate?" asked Niobe.

"Of course there is. It's that way, but you wouldn't want to try it, believe me." Even as he pointed he gave another start. "Oh, no, the Guardian of the Gate has been alerted!" He jiggled with indecision and frustration; but soon had an idea: "Above! I need to get above it! Quickly, don't just look lost, give me a hoist to the top of the wall. Now!"

Niobe stood on Morpheus's shoulders up against the wall. Hoggle clambered up the pair of them and managed to find a toehold to get the rest of the way. It was an ungainly struggle, but he succeeded in hauling himself onto the top of the wall. He raced along the wall, yelling "Sarah, I'm coming Sarah!"

"Well," said Morpheus, "What do we do?"

"We find this gate and see what the fuss is about," replied Niobe calmly, massaging the ear which Hoggle had kicked on his way up.


	5. Chapter 5

MORPHEUS IN THE UNDERGROUND, Chapter 5

 _Morpheus and Niobe persuaded Hoggle to help Sarah, and have helped him to the top of the wall around the Goblin City._

On the hovership there was a eureka moment. "Link, I've solved it!"

"Not now, the Captains are close to Jareth's castle."

"Link, that second piece of code – I know what it does. It could be important!"

"Ok, ok, I'm listening – but I have to keep watching the screens too."

"That code ejects someone from the Labyrinth. It sends them back to the Matrix, just like that." He clicked his fingers.

"So Morpheus and Niobe could suddenly find themselves back on that back porch?"

"You got it! And it would work for agents too – anyone or anything that crossed from the Matrix into the Labyrinth. Except, well, there are a lot of limitations on its use; I'm still puzzling those out."

"Hm, it looks as though the Captains have reached the gate of the Goblin City." Link concentrated on the displays in front of him. He waved the youngster to be quiet and wait, and spoke over the phone to Kid, who was still guarding the nexus. "Hey, Kid, stay awake, can't you. Try and contact Morpheus, we need to hear what's going on."

The Captains had indeed reached the great gate; it was open and deserted: no goblins or other denizens to be seen. Morpheus and Niobe entered cautiously, expecting some hidden defence, but others had broken all the defences before them. They stepped over the gigantic metal Guardian lying prone and inert, and were in the Goblin City itself; the way to the castle lay straight before them. They had heard shouts and explosions on their way to the gate; now all was quiet. There was rubble and wreckage aplenty, but there was no sign of any goblins; a few chickens wandered the streets, but that was all.

The city was small, more like a village; its ways were narrow and the buildings small and crude. Beyond and towering above it was the castle; they could see steps leading up to the castle doors and they were open. Morpheus and Niobe advanced warily, expecting some trick at every step. But they reached and climbed the steps without hindrance. When they reached the open doorway they paused; should they go left or right or take the narrow passageway straight ahead?

They heard voices to the right and turned that way. In a large, messy room littered with all sorts of things they found Hoggle and a hulking great creature which from Hoggle's earlier description they knew to be Ludo. Hoggle shushed them to be still and quiet, saying, "Count the clock strikes."

Silently looking round, the two captains saw the small figure of Sir Didymus sitting on his canine charger; nobody moved, apart from a few chickens. As chimes sounded out Hoggle and Ludo solemnly counted them. They stopped on twelve.

"What does that mean, is it good?" cried out Sir Didymus; the tiny knight looked anxious, and Ludo looked puzzled. Everyone looked to Hoggle for an explanation. "Twelve strokes is good! Thirteen would mean that Jareth had won."

"Won what?" asked Morpheus.

"Sarah has beaten Jareth: she has come through the Labyrinth, past through the Goblin City and into the castle, this castle, _his_ castle, to confront Jareth. And she must have spoken the pass phrase to his face and won back the child!"

"Where are they?" asked Niobe.

"Sarah and the child will be back where they started, back in their home, both of them." He shook his great head in amazement at Sarah's achievement.

"And Jareth, where is he?" asked Morpheus.

"I dunno. But this is _his_ throne room; hang around if you want him; he'll be back all too soon! Right now I'm not keen to face him!" With that he ran from the room and was followed by Ludo and Sir Didymus, leaving Morpheus and Niobe alone.

They had not come this far to turn back. They stayed where they were and spent the time checking through their kit: their guns were toys still; Niobe's knife remained a deadly weapon; the flashlight worked well; both cell phones displayed 'No signal'; and the walkie-talkie was showing 'low battery'. Morpheus tried it anyway; it shrieked, crackled and died. "Next time," he said, "we need something better."

"Next time?" said a quiet voice, "I don't think there will be a 'next time.'" Jareth was there and they had not seen or heard him arrive. "Did I startle you? I would have done more than that before now if that girl had not distracted me." He settled himself down into the chair which served as his throne. "My courtiers have made themselves scarce: they believe – correctly – that I am not pleased with them. If you are interested in goblins then hang around: they will come crawling back, trying to ingratiate themselves."

"We are more interested in you," Morpheus said.

"Flattering, I suppose. But who or what are _you_ , Morpheus?"

"We are from Zion."

"That little huddle of 'free' humans? Then you are far from home. I would have thought you had more urgent concerns than making yourselves a nuisance here."

"We are explorers."

"Explorers? Spies, you mean. I shall be generous and consider you emissaries – emissaries to the Court of the Goblin King! You must be desperate to come to me. Neither I, nor all the varied inhabitants of the Labyrinth can avail you against the machines. We have no influence there."

Morpheus glared. "Is not the very existence of the Labyrinth a slap in the face of the machines? It is a finger raised in defiance of the Matrix and its Agents."

"It is all that and more: it is a great work of art, and a product of machine-human cooperation. It was created for my amusement, but it is also a token of what is to come."

"Machine-human cooperation!" Niobe exclaimed. "Is that what you call taking babies from their beds?"

Jareth merely smiled. "It was Sarah I was interested in. I lured her in and showed her my kingdom. I had hoped to recruit her, I still might: she now has strong links with the Labyrinth – Hoggle and the others will see to that."

"Recruit?"

"As an artist, a designer: I want her for her imagination, her creativity. The mental abilities of programmes like myself and Persephone – or the Trainman even - go beyond those of you humans. But your inquiring, creative, artistic minds have their uses. People like Sarah designed the Labyrinth and many of the creatures in it, like that sublimely ridiculous Ludo."

Morpheus was intrigued. "And if you did recruit her, what then?"

"She would become like many others: her body would be tended by the machines as it is now, but her mind would be freed, it would be in the Matrix with the knowledge of what it is, just as yours are. More than that, she would be able to create new worlds, populate them, and enter them if she wished. Much of the Labyrinth was created by humans; future worlds will be far more sophisticated."

Niobe was unimpressed. "We in Zion reject that as the future of the human race. We refuse to serve the machines."

Jareth smiled. "Suit yourselves, but your intransigence may cost you dear. That is your problem; it matters little if you are wiped out; there are other colonies of wild humans, should we need them."

Morpheus stiffened, surprised. "What do you mean, 'other wild humans'?"

"That is what you are: wild humans skulking in your underground bunker. But you are here too; Zion is not enough for you is it? You have to meddle. There are other humans in other hideaways who do not have to fight for their lives. Some are totally isolated, others have some dealings with the Source; they helped to create me."

Niobe and Morpheus stared at each other, staggered by this revelation. Morpheus asked "Why should we believe you?"

For the first time Jareth showed anger. "Why should I lie? Go back to the Labyrinth, ask Persephone or the Merovingian. Press them, if you dare, and they will tell you the same. It would cost you your lives of course, but for a little while you would know."

He rose to his feet. "Your audience it at an end; you may leave. GO!"

The room seemed to wobble, and Niobe and Morpheus found themselves looking out towards the Labyrinth from the back porch where they had left Kid several hours ago.

Kid looked surprised and pleased to see them. "Captains, I didn't see you coming. I've being trying to contact you with the walkie-talkie for ages. Please, what do goblins look like?"

Morpheus grinned. "We never did see even one. But we did talk with Jareth in his castle, and we have some startling news for the Council. Let us find a 'phone and get back to Zion as soon as maybe."

THE END


End file.
